Hi everyone! My name is Iab Vang and my major is Biology.
Biology is really interesting because you get to learn about living things
whether it is plants, animals, or humans!
The best class that I have taken is Field Herpetology at the
OU Bio-station this summer. I signed up for this class not knowing what it was.
It was only 2 weeks and would count as a 3-credit lab so I said why not? Also,
I met the professor at a biology club meeting so I was sold. I would have to
say that this was the best experience I’ve ever had. Herpetology is the study of
amphibians and reptiles so we were exposed to a lot of snakes, turtles, frogs,
and many more! (I am definitely not a reptile or amphibian girl!!!) Some animals we caught were Timber Rattlesnakes, Copperheads,
Leopard Frogs, Green Treefrogs, Red-eared sliders, a Stinkpot, Mississippi Box
turtles, and many more! The night the copperhead was caught, the class
celebrated with ice cream and it was great! We went out to different fields
like creeks and swamps to collect these animals. At first I was really scared
to touch them, but the last couple of days I finally got to catch some. We
collected these animals to test them for the disease Chytrid, which is an
infectious disease that is currently affecting amphibians. Overall, I did not
want this class to end. I enjoyed it so much that I am currently volunteering
at the Sam Noble Museum, helping with my professor’s current research. I highly
recommend taking a course at the OU bio-station because it will be an unforgettable
experience!
(Catching a Copperhead: Photo taken by Joshua Kouri; photo from OU biostation July 2016)
(Alligator snapping turtle: Photo taken by Joshua Kouri; photo from August 2016)
One thing that I love doing most is traveling. This past year I was fortunate enough to go to Miami, Los Angeles, and Clearwater. I got to go Miami for the Orange Bowl game and it was so much fun! Although we lost, I had a great time and experience there. It was very diverse and I met people from different countries.
During spring
break my sister and I took a trip to Los Angeles. I have two friends currently
living there so I thought it would be awesome to visit them and explore a city
that I’ve never been to. Los Angeles is a great city and I had such an awesome time.
We went to the Santa Monica pier one day and it was super packed but I had fun.
We also went to Venice beach and it was beautiful. On another day, we walked
down the Hollywood boulevard. There is just so much to do In LA and I will
definitely go back.
(Personal photo of Venice Beach: photo taken March 2016)
Another trip was in May, my family and I went to Clearwater
beach for a summer vacation. We met up with other family members and just spent
a nice week at the beach. As I mentioned before, I love the beach so I
definitely had a great time!
(personal photo of my sister and I parasailing: photo taken in May 2016)
I would say one thing that I have accomplished this past
year is logging in a lot of volunteer hours at the Norman Regional Hospital. I
volunteered in the recovery room so I was exposed to many patients and also
interacted with a lot of nurses and doctors. It has been such a great
experience!
